The Dirty Red Series

by Vickie M. Stringer

  • • •

  Bacon and Red arrived at the loft within a half hour. Swiftly, Bacon parked his Range Rover and looked over at Red. She had tears in her eyes.

  “Loyalty, remember?” he said to her. “And everything you could possibly want will be yours. No matter how dirty you are, you still wifey material, Red, and on the real, do what I ask and we can charge it to the game, not your heart, feel me? Now come on, let’s do the damn thing.”

  Slowly, Red emerged from the vehicle and walked into the building, heading toward the elevators. Bacon followed behind her, watching her every movement closely. He had to make sure she didn’t turn on him. Even though she chose loyalty over death, he wasn’t stupid. Red was still a dirty bitch and he didn’t put anything past her.

  Red ignored the doorman’s greeting as she looked at the two elevator cars in front of her. They both seemed to take their own sweet time returning to the main floor after she pushed the button.

  Not making it obvious that they were together, Bacon took out his cell phone and began to fidget with it.

  Both elevators arrived at the same time, and Red stepped into the first one then turned around as the door began to close. Bacon slid in right before it closed.

  “You ready for this?” Bacon asked as the car began to crawl higher to their destination.

  Red nodded.

  “Let me hear you say it again, Red,” Bacon demanded. “What do you choose?”

  “Loyalty,” Red told him softly. She couldn’t believe that she was doing this. She couldn’t believe that she was rolling with Bacon once again. Even if it was just until she could escape, five minutes was too long to her. Bacon was scum.

  Loyalty is right, Red thought. Q has done so much for me and I can’t forget that. He risked his life for me. If that ain’t loyalty, I can’t say what is, but Bacon . . . he can give me the life I want, but would he risk his life for me? She looked at Bacon, who had impaled her with hard eyes. The elevator continued to climb, now almost at its destination.

  The ding alerted Red that she’d finally reached her floor. The elevator doors parted slowly and she stepped off with Bacon behind her.

  Walking slowly toward the door of her home, Red decided to do something out of the ordinary. Maybe Q will pick up that something is wrong, Red hoped. She needed to warn him. Maybe he’ll call the cops or security or grab his gun and save me, she prayed silently. She needed to give Q a chance but she didn’t want him to get caught slipping. Bacon was a grimy-ass killer, and if Q got in the way, she was sure that Bacon would take it to the maximum. Bacon slinked off to the side, out of view, while Red knocked on the front door and rang the bell. Moments later, Q opened it and Red walked in.

  “Damn, what you been doin’ up in here?” she asked. It smelled like a distillery.

  “You . . . I can’t believe you would do all of the shit you’ve done to me, Red,” Q slurred, talking with no obvious purpose.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know how you played Kera and your girl Sasha. I know about the pee test you did and you wasn’t even pregnant. If you just wanted money, all you had to do was say it, but naw, you decided to play games. Then when your ass did get knocked up, you told me and that nigga Bacon it was ours. You a no-good, scandalous bitch and you ain’t never gonna change, Red. You’re still dirty.”

  “Q, you’re drunk.” Red ignored what he said and tried to escort him to the couch. “You need to lie down.”

  “I don’t need to do shit but tell you to leave.” He looked closely at her. “Get the fuck outta my house and outta my damn life.”

  “What?”

  “You heard what I said, get the fuck OUT!” he yelled loudly then pointed toward the door.

  “Look, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you, but you’re wrong about what you think you know,” she lied. She wasn’t going to admit to anything, especially to a drunk: once Q sobered up, he wouldn’t remember what was being said now, and Red knew that. “You’re obviously angry for some reason. I’m gonna get some clothes and stay at a friend’s for a few days.”

  “A friend? You ain’t got no damn friends, Red.” Q then mumbled something under his breath that she couldn’t understand.

  Red marched to the bedroom but came back in less than a minute. Bacon stood silently at the door marveling at the exchange. Q was so drunk that he hadn’t even noticed that Bacon was there.

  “Q, where’s my shit?” Red demanded. Just then, she realized the pungent smell wasn’t Q and his drunken state. It was something else. Something much stronger. It was bleach. She ran to the bathroom and let out a bloodcurdling scream when she saw every designer outfit she owned, soaked, destroyed.

  “You bitch-ass muthafucka!” she yelled, running out of the bathroom. “How yo’ broke ass gonna fuck my shit up?”

  “Easy. I’m just doing what you told me to do in Mexico. You told me to keep the clothes, that they were too much of a reminder of me; yo’ shit was too much of a reminder of you, so I had to do something with them. Fair enough, isn’t it?” Q smirked.

  “You broke bastard!”

  “Broke?”

  “Yeah, broke!” she retorted.

  Q walked up on Red and spoke angrily through his teeth. “That’s the second time you called me that and it will be your last. See, that’s your muthafuckin’ problem. I told you I was getting off the damn streets. I grew up, Red. I was trying to come clean so I could build a better life for both of us, but naw, you ain’t want that. You still on that kiddie shit. You know what? Get the fuck outta my house and my life, Red. Play your childish games for someone who cares.”

  Q turned around to walk away.

  “Don’t turn your back on me,” she yelled.

  Q continued to walk away.

  “Tell me you love me, Q,” Red asked through her tears.

  He didn’t answer her.

  “Tell me you love me,” she said again, but this time with a hint of panic tinging her voice.

  Standing near the front door, Bacon thought, What the fuck difference does it make if that nigga loves her? Where is this bitch’s head at? He continued to watch, but was ready to bust a cap in both their asses if things didn’t work out like he wanted them to.

  Q turned around and looked at Red. Drunk and staggering, he managed to speak. “I did love you, Red, but I can’t anymore. I can’t love anyone as heartless as you. Now get the fuck out!” he ordered and turned around, attempting to trot off to his bedroom.

  “I love you, baby,” a voice whispered. “Do it.”

  Instantly, Q whirled toward the sound. He saw it was Bacon. “What the fuck are you doing at my house?” As drunk as Q was, he charged at Bacon.

  Immediately, Red reached into her oversize Marc Jacobs bag and pulled out the gun that Bacon had given her. The two men stumbled past her and began to tussle, knocking over furniture. Bacon on top of Q, then Q on top of Bacon. Bacon on top of Q again.

  Red aimed the gun directly ahead of her and closed her eyes.

  Without warning, a loud POP rang out and everything in the room went silent.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The acrid smell from the gunpowder permeated the air and gray smoke wafted through the room. Red’s ears rang from the sound of the gunshot, and a tense thickness hung in the atmosphere.

  Bacon’s mouth fell open in shock. He ran his hand over his body searching for a bullet hole and then closed his eyes for a second. He didn’t feel any stinging or burning sensations, but he knew that it could be shock keeping him from feeling those things. His hand felt something wet. He pulled it back and saw blood.

  Bacon pulled away from Q and Red watched as Q slumped to the floor.

  Trembling, with the warm gun still in her hand, Red’s vision shifted from Q to Bacon, and from Bacon to Q. What did I do? she wondered. How could I have shot him? I was aiming for Bacon!

  Red couldn’t believe it. She knew that Q took her with all of her faults and still made her his wifey. How could s
he have shot him just to live the good life with Bacon? What kind of person was she? Was it really worth it? Was money really worth it? Was her survival in these streets really worth Q’s life?

  Red knew that she didn’t want to start all over from scratch again, and Bacon was able to offer her money and the safety and security that came along with having it, but she knew she could have it all without Bacon. The bruises on her body were evidence enough that shooting Bacon would have been in self-defense and Q would have been her witness. Killing Bacon and reclaiming his fortune was how Red wanted to show her loyalty to Q. With Bacon’s stacks, they could live the lifestyle they were accustomed to and wouldn’t be afraid of tomorrow without money. Quentin Carter deserved that, not Bacon.

  Q was broke now; he had stopped hustling. But she also knew that if Bacon were dead, she’d still have access to his money, she’d have her house back and the ill whips that he had. It was easier with him dead—plus, she had visible bruises on her so she could say killing him was in self-defense. She had a choice. A life with money if she chose Bacon, or living broke if she chose Q. Fear had made the decision for her. She was used to living a certain lifestyle, and was afraid of a tomorrow without money. So she chose Bacon. But she knew she’d fucked up when she shot Q.

  In shock at what she had just done, Red lowered the smoking gun to her side. Tears ran down her face as she watched him struggle to breathe. Her back was now up against the wall and there was no turning back. Just as she was about to leave the loft, she turned back and looked at Q. His life or hers? She chose to live.

  “Where the fuck you think you goin?” Bacon grabbed Red by her arm. “You never lay a nigga out without making sure you took his ass out completely.”

  • • •

  Q lay on the ground in an expanding pool of bright crimson blood. Pain radiated throughout his body and he began to get cold. He tried to focus his eyes, but they continued to roll. He couldn’t believe that Red had shot him. Out of all the things she was, a killer she was not. She couldn’t have been trying to shoot me, he thought. Maybe she just got scared and the gun went off in her hand. Maybe she meant to fire a warning shot into the air but accidentally shot me. Whatever it was, Q was certain that Red hadn’t meant to shoot him. It had to be an accident, his heart told him, but she wasn’t running to him. Why wasn’t she on her knees crying and trying to help him? What did it all mean? The smell of blood filled the air and Q couldn’t think straight. His thoughts were rushing into his head all at once and were beginning to become incoherent. His mind was rambling.

  “Red . . .” he called out faintly.

  Red watched the blood slowly seep from Q’s body. She wanted to run to him, drop down to her knees and hold him, let him know that she was sorry, that she was there for him and that they could get through this together. She knew that they could. They could just tell the cops that it was an accident, or that Bacon had pulled the trigger. But would Q do it? Could he forgive her for all she had done and lie for her? No matter how much her mind willed her legs to move, they were cemented to that spot as if she were trapped.

  “Red . . .” Q called out again, weakly. His eyes fluttered as he reached out toward her. “Help me . . .”

  Bacon heard Q calling out her name and it pissed him off even more.

  “What the fuck you calling her for, nigga?” Bacon said, then walked over to Q. He crouched down next to him and continued, “She don’t give a fuck about you. She had a choice to make and she made it. Her life or yours and you laying here damn near dead.” Bacon leaned forward and whispered softly in Q’s ear, “I got my pussy back. Red is fucking and sucking me now. When you die, I’m gonna fuck her on top of your grave, nut on the dirt that covers your casket and then I’m gonna piss on your headstone.” Bacon looked at Red. “Ain’t that right, baby?”

  Red refused to answer. She hated the very existence of Bacon and wished she hadn’t closed her eyes when she fired the gun.

  “Answer me, bitch!” Bacon yelled, making Red jump.

  “Yes,” she said hesitantly.

  Bacon grinned at Red’s admission. Q struggled to lift his head up just as Bacon stood.

  “Fuck you, you fuckin’ maggot!” Q managed to say.

  Bacon looked at Q, reared his foot back and kicked him in the face as hard as he could. “Die, bitch-ass nigga.” Q’s head snapped back and hit the floor hard. He was already weak but the blow to his head knocked him out like a light.

  “Bacon!” Red yelled. “Stop it!”

  “Shut up, bitch!” Bacon looked at her. “What, you got feelings for this nigga or somethin’?”

  “You hit him! You didn’t have to hit him!”

  “And you didn’t have to shoot him,” Bacon retorted quickly with a smile, “but you did.” He clapped repeatedly, giving her applause. “You follow directions very well in a game, Red, and it’s a good thing; otherwise, who knows what the cops would find out?” He walked over to her and pushed some hair out of her face. “You know, in a way I almost want you to get caught up. That way, you can see how fucked-up it is in prison. Especially with no one on the outside looking out for you. No letters, no visits, no nothing. You couldn’t even wipe your ass on a piece of paper and send it to me. I’m tempted to let you see how that shit feels. Looking at life with no hope of getting out and no support. You damn lucky you chose loyalty, Red, because since you’re loyal to me, now I have to be loyal to you. That’s the way it works—or at least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. You understand now?”

  Red looked down at the gun. Her hands were trembling badly and her body was shaking as if she were holding a jackhammer. She not only could feel her heart pounding in her chest, but swore that she could hear it as well. Her hands were so clammy and sweaty it was as if they had been dipped in water. She glanced around the loft and knew that she had to get out of there.

  Red stared at Q. Inside, she was screaming for him to get up. She had made a mistake, one that could possibly cost her her life, either behind bars or six feet under. Despite the blood that she saw, she still willed Q to get up and save her from Bacon again. Just one more time, baby, she prayed silently. Just one more time and I swear, I’ma be right.

  “I said, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” Bacon shouted, bringing Red out of her thoughts of Q.

  “Bacon, please!”

  “Bacon, please, what?” he asked with a smile. “Please don’t tell the cops that you committed murder? Bacon, please don’t show me how it feels to go to prison and be shitted on? Bacon, please don’t shit on me out here? Or Bacon, please love me and wife me, even though I really don’t deserve it?”

  Red’s heart was racing as if she had just run the Boston Marathon in record time. Angrily, she turned around and trotted toward the door but Bacon was faster and stopped her, grabbing her arm.

  “Keep your muthafuckin’ hands off me!” Red shot back.

  “Or what?” Bacon smiled dementedly. “What you gonna do, Red?”

  She lifted the gun and pointed it toward Bacon’s face. He grabbed Red’s arm but she jerked it away from him. “Don’t come any closer because I don’t give a fuck anymore!”

  “Oh, so you a killer now? Is that what you’re saying? That you’re a real killer now?” Bacon backed up, held his arms out to his side and taunted Red: “Do it!”

  She looked at Q, then back at Bacon, staring at him with pure hatred in her eyes.

  “Do it!” Bacon reached out, grabbed her hand that held the gun and pressed the barrel against his forehead. “If you point a gun at me, I swear you better use it and kill me!”

  Red began to tremble. She closed her eyes, turned her head away, then squeezed the trigger. Nothing sounded but a big empty CLICK! She opened her eyes and kept squeezing the trigger in dismay.

  Bacon let out a demented laugh. “You stupid bitch! You think I was gon’ give you more than one bullet?”

  He grabbed Red’s arm again, and she snatched away from him. Then he shoved her against the wall.

  “
Q!” she cried out instinctively.

  “Q?” Bacon asked. He became furious. “Q! Yeah, that nigga saved yo’ ass last time, but he can’t help you now. How the fuck you gonna be loyal to me but call another nigga’s name? Especially his ass. What the fuck he gonna do except die?” He pointed toward an unconscious Q, then looked back at Red. “Can’t nobody save you from me. You belong to me.”

  Red glanced over at Q and Bacon backhanded her, sending her flying back into the wall again.

  “Bastard!” she shouted. Red felt her face swelling up from Bacon’s constant abuse.

  “Loyalty, Red!” Bacon said, grasping her arm. “You said that you chose loyalty. You lied to me!”

  “No, Bacon, I didn’t!” Red said, becoming desperate. “Let go, you’re hurting me!”

  “Naw, Red, I’ma show you what loyalty is all about!”

  “I’m loyal, Bacon!” Red lied. She knew that she had fucked up. Her whole purpose was to get away from him now. She had chosen his money over Q, and now she was regretting it. “I swear! I’m sorry.”

  Bacon squeezed Red’s arm and led her out the loft’s front door. “Just walk and look normal!”

  “Okay!” Red tried to pry his hand from around her arm. “You’re hurting me,” she repeated.

  “I said, just walk and look normal!” He tightened his grip.

  The two of them took the long trek down the stairs and out of the building. On the way to the car Bacon smiled in satisfaction. Red had just tried to kill for him, and only he knew about it. He held the keys to Red’s freedom and she was now his forever, to do with as he pleased. But first, he would make sure that she understood that. First, he was going to break her ass down; and by the time he got through with her, she would be begging for his mercy.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Detective Thomas pulled up to the front of Q’s building. Although Q went off on him earlier, Thomas was used to that type of reaction from people who had lost loved ones, but he had to talk to Q about the latest information on Zeke’s death. A black Range Rover shot past him as he was opening the door to his vehicle. The passengers inside made him do a double take. They looked vaguely familiar, enough so that he tried to glance at the license plate but he couldn’t make out the last three digits because of the vehicle’s high rate of speed. The police radio in his vehicle crackled and came alive.